He was being a good guy when he offered to drive his boss to the airport early in the morning – but Patrick Schlagenhaft ended up being a good Samaritan and saving the life of a minutes-old newborn in a crash that killed the baby’s father.

The still-unnamed infant had been delivered in the back seat of his parents’ car as they raced to a hospital along rain-slick, foggy Route 88 in Brick, N.J., at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Binyamin and Atara Sasoon, both 22, were within a half-mile of Ocean Medical Center – with the distracted dad turning around periodically to check on his wife and first child – when the car slammed into a utility pole, police said.

The car went into a spin and struck the pole a second time before it came to a halt, according to police.

And that’s when Schlagenhaft, who lives just a few blocks away, happened upon the scene.

“It was about 5:15 a.m. and it’s foggy and drizzly,” said the 35-year-old ballpark consultant.

“That’s when I saw Atara. She’s standing in the middle of the street, waving.”

She had been thrown from the car on impact and was covered in blood, Schlagenhaft said.

“She says, ‘You’ve got to help me get my husband because he’s knocked out. And you have to help me get my baby,’ ” he said.

“I’m dialing 911 as I get to the car and when I looked at the husband, I know it doesn’t look good. But I know I had to check the baby first,” he said.

He asked the agitated mom if her baby was in a car seat.

“There is no car seat,” she told him. “I just had the baby.”

“Now I’m like ‘Wow,’ ” said Schlagenhaft.

He searched the rear of the car and found the infant under a black jacket on the floor on the passenger’s side.

“Something was alive in the car,” he said.

But when he picked up the infant, it was making strange noises and he was afraid the child was choking or having trouble breathing, said Lt. Douglas Kinney of the Brick Township police.

“The 911 dispatcher told him how to clear the baby’s air passages, and while he was wiping its mouth and nose, the baby took a deep breath and started crying out loud,” said Kinney.

With the infant crying and kicking his feet, the Good Samaritan ran over and handed the baby to Atara and then went to check on her husband.

“There were no vital signs,” said Schlagenhaft. But he didn’t tell Atara.

The agitated mom kept asking, “Is he going to be OK?” while Schlagenhaft tried to keep her away from the car until police arrived.

It really hit home for Schlagenhaft, whose wife is expecting their first child in July.

“I know how excited I am . . . so I can’t even fathom how [Binyamin] felt. He was probably so excited rushing to the hospital.”

Paramedics arrived minutes later and took mother and newborn to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where Atara is in fair condition and her son is listed in critical condition.

Hospital officials said Atara had been told of her husband’s death, but would provide no further information about mother and child yesterday. But Schlagenhaft reported both were doing well.

He said he called the hospital and spoke to a tearful Atara.

“She sounded really good,” he said. “She said the baby is doing excellent.”

Asked about his Good Samaritan role, he noted: “The only thing I really believe is that God had me there for a reason. That’s why he had me leave 15 minutes early.”

He normally leaves for work at 5:30 a.m., but on Tuesday he started out early so he could pick up his boss and drive him to the airport.

Schlagenhaft’s wife, Amy, thinks her husband is “awesome.” “He’s really good under pressure,” she said.

“I think Atara was amazing too – having the courage and the strength” to wave someone down for help, she added.